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No. 607,454. Patented luly I9, I898.

F. w. OLIVER.

BELTING.

(Application filed Dec. 30, 1897.)

' (No Model.)

WITNESSES: .mv NTORr 2's oriie In; M7

FREDERICK WVEAVER OLIVER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE AMERICAN PEGAMOID COMPANY,

OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

BELTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,454, dated July 19,1898.

Application filedDeoember 30,1897. Serial No. 664,709. (No model.)Patentedin EnglandMay 12,1896,No.10,104; in Germany July 9, 1896, No;92,585; in Sweden November 6,1896,N0.7,911; in France November 7, 1896,No. 261,082; in Belgium November 9, 1896, No. 124,491; in SwitzerlandNovember 19, 1896, No. 13,217; in Hungary November 23, 1896, No. 8,267;in Norway December 9, 1896, No. 5,658; in Austria December 12, 1896, No.LG/4,979; in Spain December 26, 1896, No. 19,921; in ItalyDecember 31,1896,No, 84,238; in Victoria January 8,1897,No.18,846; in New SouthWalesd'anuary 11, 1897, No. 7,191; in India May 3, 1897, No. 437, and inDenmark August 24,1897,N0.1,229.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK WEAVER OLIVER, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at 40 King street, Cheapside, London, England,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belting, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention has been patented to me in Great Britain, No. 10,104,dated May 12, 1896; in Belgium, No. 124,491, dated November 9, 1896; inFrance, No. 261,082, dated November 7, 1896; in Hungary, No. 8,267,dated November 23, 1896; in Norway, No. 5,658, dated December 9, 1896;in Sweden, No. 7,911, dated November 6, 1896; in Switzerland, No.13,217, dated November 19, 1896; in India, No. 437/96, dated May 3,1897; in Austria, No. LG/4,979, dated December 12, 1896; in Denmark, No.1,229,.dated August 24, 1897; in Germany, No. 92,585, dated July 9,1896; in Italy, No. 84,238, dated December 31,1896;

in Spain, No. 19, 921, dated December 26, 1896;

in New South Vales, No. 7,191, dated January 11, 1897, and in Victoria,No. 13,846, dated January 8, 1897.

The object of my invention is to produce belting or driving-bands formachinery that are waterproof, Will not be effected by oils or ordinaryacids or by any variations of temperature to whichthey would ordinarilybe exposed, which shall stand long-continued.

use without impairment or material change in character, in which therewill not be any material stretching in use, and which shall have asuflicient and proper degree of flexibility to work well around thepulleys to which they may be applied, and which will slip as little oreven less than the belting ordinarily in use.

I have found by experiment and by practical use that belting having theabove characteristics, as well as other advantageous features, may beproduced by impregnating or saturatingia suitable textile material ofwhich the belt is to be composed with liquid celluloid. By liquidcelluloid (which is well known in the art) I mean nitrocellulose .orpyroxylin dissolved by the air of camphor or its equivalent,which givesincreased toughness and fiexi'bility to the compound when dried by theevaporation of the volatile solvent or solvents. The degree of fluidityof the solution should be such with reference to the permeability of thematerial to which it is applied that the solution will sink into,saturate, or impregnate the face of the material to such depth as tosurround, cement together, and take a firm hold upon the outer fibers;but the best results are obtained when the solution sinks into orimpregnates the material to a considerable depth, if not to the point ofcomplete saturation. The drying of the impregnated fabric may beassisted by artificial heat, if desired. Two or more bands or layers ofthe impregnated material may be pressed together before they are dried,being thus intimately united by the liquid celluloid, or if theimpregnated materials have already become dry their surfaces to beunited may be softened by a solvent of celluloid and then pressedtogether, or liquid celluloid may again be applied to the surfaces toact as a cementing medium.

The material to be employed in the production of the driving-belts ofthis application is a strong substantial textile material of the generalcharacter of what is ordinarily known as canvas and duck. I thereforehereinafter use the term canvas in a general sense to include duck and material of the above character which is to be distinguished from lighterfiner textile fabrics-such as cambrics, muslins, and cotton and linenclothsof the character commonly used for domestic purposes. The canvasis impregnated or saturated with a thin solution of celluloid applied,preferably, to both surfaces, so that there is a distinct penetration orsaturation as and for the purpose hereinbefore described. The materialthus impregnated or saturated, if treated in large webs or sheets, isthen cut into strips of the required length, and the desired nu mber ofsuch strips, if more than one, cemented together in the manner abovesuggested, and a strip slightly wider than double the wid th of thesestrips, and also preferably impregnated or saturated by application toboth surfaces, may be folded over the core formed by the strip orstrips, with its edges abutting or scarfed in the middle of the face,which is preferably to be the inner face or side of the belt, and inlike manner cemented to the inclosed strips. When the canvas is thusimpregnated, the impregnating compound extends down into it beneath itssurface and surrounds and attaches itself to the individual fibers andstrands. The surface film of the celluloid that may remain upon the faceof the canvas may be very attenuated and does not obliterate thecharacteristic appearance of its pearl, weave, or grain. In a belt somade the celluloid is really incorporated into the substance of thecanvas, and belts of this character have all the advantages abovestated. They do not stretch. They adapt themselves to the pulleys,forming a good working contact and taking a good working grip thereon.They are waterproof and are not affected by oils, ordinary acids, or anyordinary variations of temperature. An unimpregnated canvas would ofcourse stretch considerably, and it might be supposed that theincorporation of the celluloid into it would notsufficiently preventsuch stretching, but such is not the fact. The celluloid, beingincorporated into the respective faces of the respective strips, cementsthe fibers together, unites with the fibers and strands, and holds themin a firm embrace, which gives to the belt firmness or solidity ofstructure and prevents the fibers of the impregnated portions fromsliding or moving relatively to each other. Thus stretching of the beltwhen in use is practically prevented, which result is also assisted bythe layers of celluloid lying between the strips and eementing themtogether. Of course if the impregnated material of which the belt iscomposed were subjected to successive applications of the liquidcelluloid a distinct surface or coating of celluloid could be built upupon the face of the fabric, and a belt so made would in use in greatdegree still possess the peculiar characteristics and behavior stated.Still such a belt would not be desirable or beneficial in my judgment,and, moreover, the cost of production would be unnecessarily increased.However, if it were done it would be apparent that such a coating couldnot be separated from the canvas, both because it would be intimatelywelded to that part of the compound extending down and incorporatedinto, or, in other words, impregnating, the canvas and because thecanvas treated as described has practically no stretch. It is apparentthat when the celluloid is combined with or incorporated into the canvasbyimpregnation, as described, there is such an intimate union andblending between the substance of the canvas and the impregnatingcelluloid th'at constant flexure and wear will not disintegrate the beltor cause a separation of the impregnating compound from the strands andfibers of the canvas, and these characteristics are preserved duringexposure of all ordinary kinds for long periods of time.

I11 the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a cross-section of a beltconstructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 2 is a similarview.

In the drawings, A represents the interior strips of impregnated canvas,of which there may be one, two, or more, and 13 represents theenveloping strip that is folded around the interior strips. The drawingsare made upon an enlarged scale to indicate the impregnation orsaturation of the canvas by the celluloid. Thus in Fig. 1 the stipplingor shading a indicates the presence within the body of the canvas of theim u'egnating celluloid in the interior strips, and Z) represents theimpregnating celluloid contained in the body of the envelop or outerstrip.

In Fig. 2 the stippling or shading a is carried entirely across thesections of the interior strips to indicate complete saturation, and theshading l) similarly indicates complete saturation of the envelop orouter strip. The joint as of the envelop is thoroughly pro tected by thecelluloid, which, being applied in liquid form,may completely fill itand saturate or impregnate the abutting edges. As before su ggested,whencaster-oil or its equivalent is used in the liquid-celluloid compoundthe compound when dried has more toughness and flexibility. I havetherefore generally used it in practice. Good practical belts of thecharacter described have been made by me when about six gills ofcastor-oil per pound of dry nitrocellulose are used. \Vhere the layersof canvas are cemented together by a solution of cellrrloid,I preferthat the solution should contain less oil, and I have generally usedthree gills per pound of dry nitrocellulose.

The degree of fluidity of the impregnating compound may be that ofolive-oil at ordinary temperatures or even thinner, depending in ameasure upon the hardness and density of the canvas to be impregnated.

It is obvious that the impregnation or saturation hereinbefore describedwill be more rapid and thorough where the pores, fibers, and intersticesof the material to be impregnated are not clogged by size or similarcompositions.

I am aware that drivingbelts having a textile body like canvas have beensuperficially coated with rubber and then vulcanized. It is apparent,however, that such a belt does not possess the advantages orcharacteristics of my improved belt. Thus it is well. known that therubber is in j uriously affected by oils,

acids, 850., rots or deteriorates when exposedof time, and becomessticky or tacky when exposed to the action of steam or to such hightemperatures as it might be exposed to ad jacent to steam engines orboilers.

If a belt of textile fabric were coated with celluloid applied in theform of a paste or dough, it would lie as a mere superficial coating orlayer upon the face of the fabric. It is apparent that in a belt soprepared the fabric retains all its original flexibility, while thecoating of celluloid is relatively very much less flexible. Theconstantfiexure of the belt therefore tends to disrupt the imperfectunion between the coating and the surface of the fabric. Furthermore,the layer of celluloid lying independently upon the face of the fabricis liable to injury that will expose the absorbent textile material,which will then absorb moisture, and also the layer of celluloid will inuse crack and break away from the fabric, and where such a layer ofcelluloid is applied the surface of the belt is necessarily one ofcelluloidthat is to say, the characteristic surface of the canvas orduck is covered or obliterated. It is therefore apparent that such abelt is not the same as my improved belt and does not possess its markedadvantages.

I am not aware that any practical drivingbelt coated with celluloid hasbeen made, nor do I believe it possible except by my method, because thetextile portion of the belt will stretch in use much more than asuperficial coating of celluloid, as when the celluloid is applied as apaste. This will bring practically all the driving strain onto thesuperficial coating, which must crack and disintegrate until the strainis taken up by the fab ric. IVhile rubber adapts itself by its ownelasticity to the stretch of the textile basis of the belt, celluloidhas not such adaptability, and for this reason the problem of making arubber-coated belt does not present the conditions anddifiiculties of abelt composedot' canvas and celluloid.

The article of this application is a drivingbelt of textile material ofthe character described so impregnated or saturated with celluloid,applied in thin solution, as to have the following characteristics:

First. When the celluloid has dried, the fibers of the impregnatedtextile material are so bound together that they can no longer changetheir positions in relation to one another, in consequence of which thebelt cannot stretch.

Second. The celluloid is mainlyimprisoned within the body of the canvasitself, the surface coating being a mere incident of the impregnation orsaturation and nota superficial layer, such as results from coating withapaste. Thus the celluloid binds the fibers together and the fibers bindthe celluloid, each aiding the other to attain the desired result. Thusthe surface coating is just sufficient to make the belt water, oil, andacid proof. It is part of the impregnation orsaturation and is thereforeanchored firmly not only to but also within the body of the belt.

There is thus a-radical difference between the belt of the applicationand the pastecoated belts of the prior art, which rely upon asubstantial superficial coating.

The belting illustrated in the drawings is not what may properly becalled a coated belt, but is, on the contrary, a canvas belt which,while having celluloid incorporated into its substance, retains thecharacteristic surface appearance and inequalities of thefabric. Such abelt is a desirable product for many reasons. As has been fullyexplained, it may readily be obtained by combining the celluloid withthe canvas, as I do, but cannot be produced by the application to thecanvas of celluloid in the form of a paste. This fact illustrates whatmust be already apparenti. 6., that a belt produced according to my planis in fact radically different from one produced by the application of apaste to a fabric to form a superficial coating.

I have used the term celluloid herein to indicate that compound ofnitrocellulose variously termed celluloid, xylonite, ivorite, andparkesine and which has practical qualities that I have discoveredspecially adapt it to the purpose herein described. Celluloid, properlyso called, is obtained by dissolving nitrocellulose and camphor inalcohol; but it is obvious that a solution of any other cellulosederivatives which has the same practical qualities as celluloid,properly so called, Will lend itself equally well to my invention eventhough of different chemical constitution or method of production,and bythe term celluloid I Wish to be understood as including such bodies.

I claim as my invention 1. The herein-described driving-belt composed ofcanvas impregnated with, and having its fibers cemented together by,celluloid.

2. The herein-described driving-belt composed of canvas impregnatedwith, and having its fibers cemented together by, celluloid containingcastor-oil.

3. The herein-described driving-belt composed of strips of canvasimpregnated with, and whose fibers are cemented together by, celluloid,and the strips of which are cemented together by celluloid,substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described driving-belt composed of strips of canvasimpregnated with, and whose fibers are cemented together by, celluloidcontaining castor-oil, and the strips of which are cemented together bycelluloid, substantially as set forth.

5. A driving-belt consisting of one or more strips of canvas impregnatedwith celluloid and enveloped in a wrapper of canvas imsisting of canvashaving celluloid incorporated into it, and also a thin film of celluloidupon its face integrally united with the cel luloid incorporated intothe canvas and conforming to the inequalities of the face of the canvasWithout concealing or obliterating its characteristic surface.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

FREDERICK WEAVER OLIVER. lVitncsses:

FREDERICK SYDNEY PINE, W. W. IIAURS.

